Current technology Plasma TV's?

[Blake_T]

does anyone own a newer gen plasma tv or work in an electronics store or something like that and can give any feedback on them?

tryin to get my gf a new panasonic tv and i haven't considered plasma since my parents and a few family friends had some horrific experiences 4-6 years ago with them.

how is the anti-burn in tech? my gf is prone to falling asleep watching something and then having the dvd sit there on the menu screen for like 5 hours.

[Leopard]

i get temporary burn-ins, they'll either go away after a few minutes on a different channel, or after a short scrolling-bars session. we've only given it minor grief though, like watching discovery all night (6 hours of channel logo) or running photoshop/pc on it.

had it for a few months and no burns that have lasted.

[Blake_T]

thanks for the input.

i read somewhere that it's more of a problem during the first 200 hours of use or so.

tryin to decide between lcd or plasma (basically, deciding if i find a good deal on a plasma if it's worth getting or not instead of waiting for an equally good deal on an LCD, which is a lot less likely).

my setup is all sony and they haven't done any plasma stuff in years so i haven't kept up on it.

[jubuttib]

Personally I'd take even the risks inherent in the old-gen plasmas to not have to suffer the colors, viewing angles and contrast of LCD. Yes, they've made leaps in colors, but plasma is still better. Yes, viewing angles are better than they used to be, but they're still limited compared to plasma. Yes, LED backlights help with the contrast, but it's still more a work-around compared to plasma's inherent properties.

Pretty much the only things LCD has going for itself is the price and power consumption. And I do have to admit, the price part makes a big ass difference.

[Flipflat]

I had posted a while back about advice for buying a new tv, and Somecallme...Tim? pointed this site out: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/
Lots of info there.

[sunspot]

Blake, you might already know this information, but I found this http://www.crutchfield.com/S-JeBBSpVKj1H/learn/learningcenter/home/tv_flatpanel.html to be a good overview for the pros and cons of each T.V. in question.

For example:

A plasma TV might be for you if:

You like rich, warm colors and deep black levels.
You'll be sitting off-axis when you watch TV or movies.
You want the smoothest, most natural motion with fast on-screen action, like sports or video games.

If you need a screen smaller than 42", LCD is your only flat-panel TV option. LCD displays are very bright (brighter even than plasmas), so they can be better choices for more brightly lit rooms, including kitchens.

Today's LCDs are often quite energy efficient. (LG 47LD520 pictured)
An LCD TV might be for you if:

You want an ultra-thin TV — LCD TVs, especially LED-backlit models, tend to be thinner than plasmas.
You do a lot of daytime viewing in a room with windows lacking blinds, curtains or drapes. An LCD's bright picture will be look better in bright light; some LCD screens also resist glare.
Low power consumption is a priority — LCD TVs are usually more energy efficient than plasma models with the same screen size.

[Blake_T]

thanks for the input everyone.

i know that plasma pretty much has better picture all around, i'm more concerned with price, burn in, and longevity.

right now i'm trying to scoop something up in the $350ish range (used or refurbished) but keeping my options open to new as well. on this set the brand is going to be panasonic, and there's like 10x as many plasmas out there as LCD's from them in the size range we're looking for. e.g. if it's $430 new for a plasma, i'd rather spend $430 than $500 on an LCD.

my parents spent like $2500 on plasma that has a permanent TCM logo in the corner. they tried "burning in a white image" which only made the picture a lot darker overall. i've also known a few people that had $3000+ plasmas that crapped out in under 2 years. was mainly curious as to her tendency to leave stuff turned on and on a fixed image and based upon other negative stories i've heard over the years.

here's our bedroom setup:

[Blake_T]

for additional humor, we had to rearrange and i finally got my 7.1 system set up again... in a 7' x 10' room. took me about 2 hours to tweak everything so that you can't hear 1 speaker louder than another from the center seat on the couch.

unfortunately still no room for me to set up my turntable

the world's smallest 7.1 setup:

[Blake_T]

a quick update...

does anyone know at what year things "got better"?

a couple of panasonic plasmas just popped up on CL but they are from early 2006. a local pawn shop just got in a 2008 model that is also within striking distance from a price standpoint.

stick to newer? or is there a cutoff date to look for when things improved?

[BLURR]

2008 is skirting it. If possible go 2009 or newer.

[Blake_T]

thanks.

my plan was to go 2010 or newer on plasma, 2008 or newer on LCD.

tryin to keep it within a responsible budget level for "upgrading" simply to change brands which many people probably think is stupid hehe.

the TC-L37X2 37" LCD from panasonic was recently clearanced out but i passed on it at $430 and now $440 is the cheapest which is also about to become unavailable. these would be new. seems like their bottom of the line 42" plasmas pop up on sale pretty often for $450.

if i go used i figure it has to be like $380 or less but that makes it harder now that everyone bought shiz with tax return money. panasonic plasmas turn up used way more often than their lcd's. seems like on used plasmas, 2005-2007 = ~$300, 2008-2009 ~$400, 2010+ ~$450 on the used market. i have the tv that is being replaced lined up with a buyer if/when we upgrade from it.

[Ironhide]

I'm kind of a hobbist in computer LCD monitors/TVs repair and from what I've read is that 'burn in' depending on how it looks could be simply fixed by having a white screen on for approximately 30 mins. But I've seen more burn in problems with 2006 models and older. The 2007-2009's probably won't kick in for a couple more years cause technology got better and supposedly have a life of about 60k hours. But I would try to stick with new plasmas AND LCDs. Older LCDs will start having the dreaded capacitor issues, which are usually an easy fix, so if you can find them broken (AKA screen is fine but doesn't turn on), usually it's swapping out a few capacitors or just the whole power board. I've repaired over 20 computer monitors, 2 LCDs TVs, and 1 plasma that way. Also have you checked out Open Box Tvs in Hopkins? They usually have pretty good TVs and good prices.

[Blake_T]

thanks for the input.

if you see a panasonic with a screen that doesn't turn on that you want to fix and sell to me let me know

it sounds like the industrial espionage hd cap issues are still spanning across several fields eh?

i stopped by open box tv's today (i hadn't been there since before x-mas) and their prices have gone up quite a bit since i started going there (we bought a tv there march of 2010). they had a couple of panasonic plasmas but they were pretty much the same price as what i can get new LCD or plasmas for online.

right now the sets that are catching my eye overall are the TC-L37X2 and TC-L37U3 if I end up going LCD.

if any of my tv's break i will trade lessons for repairs

[Ironhide]

thanks for the input.

if you see a panasonic with a screen that doesn't turn on that you want to fix and sell to me let me know

it sounds like the industrial espionage hd cap issues are still spanning across several fields eh?

i stopped by open box tv's today (i hadn't been there since before x-mas) and their prices have gone up quite a bit since i started going there (we bought a tv there march of 2010). they had a couple of panasonic plasmas but they were pretty much the same price as what i can get new LCD or plasmas for online.

right now the sets that are catching my eye overall are the TC-L37X2 and TC-L37U3 if I end up going LCD.

if any of my tv's break i will trade lessons for repairs

Like I said, I'm just a hobbist, but ya, the bad cap issue mainly hits on LCD monitors cause people tend to have the brightness set at 100 and the caps they use to put in them were rated at lower temperatures, so they burn out quickly. Well manufactures caught on and put better quality ones in, so it doesn't happen as quickly, but will eventually happen. It doesn't occur as much in TVs and usually when the TV loses power and doesn't come on, it's not just a cap fix, but a whole power board fix. Luckily kids are throwing wii remotes around so there's plenty of spare parts. One area that I've been toying around fixing is computer motherboards, but they usually require special caps and I don't want to fix a board and find out I did it wrong and fry a CPU/memory/GPU/etc....

That'd be awesome if I could find a Panasonic and fix it and pass it your way. I'd love some more lessons from you. Had a blast putting w/ you, beato, and Tina 2 summers ago. I do have a 42" Hyundai and a 37"? Polaroid, 23" Toshiba, and a 19" Toshiba that I'm looking to sell jk!

[Blake_T]

i'm having trouble putting a face to the username but i'm sure i'd remember you in person.

i have an acquaintance that is an engineer in australia and works for the company that invented the HD electrolytic capacitor that at the time of their development, were like $1-2 ea. to keep it secret they had them manufactured in 2 stages, with each factory only getting half of the specs/process. someone managed to steal one half of the plans and sold them to chinese companies who immediately started churning out hd caps for $0.10 ea but not true to specs. the intel 810, 815, and 820 motherboard chipsets that had a huge failure rate of like 70% within 12 months (about 10 years ago) were probably the most notable victim to these caps but the problem still bleeds over today. couple in ROHS compliance and lead free solder and it's no wonder that lots of boards and caps are going bad. if i remember correctly, true hd electrolytic caps still run about $0.75 ea or so whereas the chinese counterparts have gotten better but still aren't good enough.

the tv isn't something urgent right now, it's just something i plan to do if i can get one that will cost about the same as i have a commitment from someone to buy her toshiba for. the main reason behind this thread was to see how many options worth considering there were out there.